Letters to the Editor, Thursday, June 21, 2018

Pageant entering 'Twilight Zone'

I have a suggestion: Why not just eliminate the Miss America beauty pageant altogether?

After all, isn't the "beauty" in the pageant name traditionally meant to imply physical beauty as well as mental, or emotional, or intellectual, or any other kind of "beauty" in a woman? Are we supposed to marginalize women now who are physically beautiful as the new pageant rules suggest? Are we turning into a nation that will ultimately celebrate physical ugliness as beautiful and physical beauty as ugliness, as one of Rod Serling's very memorable "Twilight Zone" episodes depicted?

And who decides what the Miss America beauty pageant contestants should wear? Certainly not the American people. And certainly not the "red-blooded" American male.

l say eliminate the Miss America beauty pageant altogether if physical beauty is marginalized in that pageant by the elimination of the swimsuit competition portion. It is in a man's nature to regard feminine physical beauty as of considerable importance in selecting a mate. A physically attractive man such as Kevin Sorbo does not usually go out of his way to find a physically unattractive woman to mate with. There is nothing wrong with a woman showing off her physical beauty by wearing a bathing suit. There is something wrong, however, when a few people can decide that feminine physical beauty is relatively unimportant compared with a woman's other attributes.

With this latest American cultural change wherein physical beauty will no longer be important or considered in the Miss America beauty pageant. I must confess America is getting to be more and more something Rod Serling might have dreamed up.

Kenneth Carson, Naples

Wrong to separate children from parents

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we have institutionalized fear in this country, to our detriment. Where other countries have gone about their business after terror attacks, we seem to have lost it, collectively. We are throwing out all the values we hold dear by pursuing ever more extreme and cruel policies in the pursuit of security at all costs.

I write concerning President Donald Trump’s administration’s new policy of separating immigrants seeking asylum in this country from their children at the border. Numerous reports have surfaced, including a firsthand televised account by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who likened conditions at a Texas immigrant detention center to a “dog kennel,” where children were held in cages, separated from their parents (CNN, June 6, 2018).

Why are we ripping families apart at the border in the name of security? Where is the outrage? Where is the outcry from all religious and fair-minded people against this barbaric and cruel practice?

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I urge everyone to write our congressman, Francis Rooney, and our senators, Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, and urge them to stand up against this human rights outrage, perpetrated in the name of security. We all know this is wrong. It is time to speak out.

Frank Dowd, Naples

Voting for Holden, not Rooney

My congressman, Francis Rooney, will not have my support this year. I will be voting for candidate David Holden who has pledged to take no PAC money, including from the National Rifle Association.

When Rooney was asked if he supported legislation outlawing assault-style weapons, he fell back on the NRA’s position to reject any bill regulating guns.

Citizens need to reread the Second Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Many gun owners agree with the minority of the Supreme Court, which ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008. But even Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, said that “... the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited ....” It is “... not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”

This 5-4 decision is hardly a one-sided victory for the Second Amendment. It suggests that there are some fairly learned individuals who agree that the court’s majority got it wrong.

The idea of “well regulated” is exactly what sensible gun law proponents are looking for. As the spokes-agency for gun manufacturers, the NRA has fought against just about every proposal to “regulate” weapons. Rooney is one of their minions.

Robert Buelow, Naples

Back candidates supporting public education

The Collier County School Board election is Aug. 28. You may think it doesn’t matter who gets elected, but nothing could be further from the truth.

I was a school board member in another state. When I moved to Naples I learned a lot about Collier County Public Schools and public education in Florida.

Good news: CCPS is an A-rated district. Over the last seven years, it has risen from a rank of 33rd to fifth out of 67 districts. Schools Superintendent Kamela Patton has been recognized as an outstanding leader.

Bad news: There are deep divisions among us. There are many parents, families, teachers and concerned citizens of all ages who support public education. They give untold hours to ensure that every student succeeds. They advocate for continuous improvement. They contact legislators at every level to fight for sound policies and adequate funding.

Unfortunately, there are also too many others doing everything they can to undermine public education locally and statewide. They denigrate traditional public schools; seek to divert public funds to private, religious and charter schools through vouchers and other schemes; challenge textbook recommendations from committees composed of teachers, administrators and community members, and then — when their challenges are not successful — sue the district, forcing CCPS to waste taxpayer funds in response.

A current example: they want textbooks that “balance” evolution and creationism. Evolution is the scientific explanation of our origins taught in public schools. Creationism is not science. It is a religious explanation that cannot be taught in public school science classes.

It matters who gets elected. This August vote for candidates who believe in public education and will support it.

Jennifer Bayles, Naples and Greensboro, Vt.

Saddened by Brock’s passing

I am very saddened by Collier County Clerk Dwight Brock’s death. He dedicated his career to serve and protect the taxpayers. His absence will be a huge loss for Collier citizens.

Brock was a person of great honesty and integrity. He never forgot the taxpayers whom he served. He was the only check and balance for the past 26 years in Collier County on spenders of taxpayers' money.

Many government officials have resented being held accountable by Brock. They covered up potential waste and corruption by unfairly portraying that Brock created an unfriendly business atmosphere by refusing to pay vendors. In truth, Brock’s office paid hundreds of thousands of invoices per year. He stopped payments on a handful that were allegedly unlawful and illegal, after thorough investigations and painstakingly meticulous audits. The county staff and commissioners once tried to hire their own auditor to audit themselves (fox guarding the henhouse). Brock had to fight for the clerk's right to audit, for five years, all the way to the state Supreme Court.

The Naples Daily News obituary article omitted mention of how Brock played a leading role in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the biggest racketeering conspiracy case in Florida's county government history — the Stadium Naples scandal in the mid-'90s when Collier County commissioners and a former county ended up being charged.

County administrators and the Naples Daily News had been very unfair to Brock. I am glad a large majority of citizens saw the truth and voted for him again and again.

We were extremely fortunate to have had Brock as our clerk of courts and comptroller for all these years.

Linda Roth, Naples

Teach creationism in church

Understanding creationism is easy. Just read a few sentences from Genesis and a supernatural being (God) did it all.

The science proving biological evolution is more complex, requiring a lot of study, and is more difficult to understand. An incredible amount of verified evidence published in peer-reviewed scientific journals has contributed to the scientific understanding of evolution. These studies occur throughout the world and are added to every single day. No evidence disproving evolution has ever been verified, not that scientists haven’t tried over and over.

The evidence for biological evolution as the origin of species comes not just from the biological sciences, but also from both historical and modern research in anthropology, astrophysics, chemistry, geology, physics, mathematics and other scientific disciplines, including both behavioral and social sciences.

Astrophysics and geology have demonstrated that Earth is old enough for biological evolution to have resulted in the species seen today. Physics and chemistry have led to dating methods that have established the timing of key evolutionary events. Comparative anatomy and physiology of innumerable species have revealed not only the physical but also the behavioral continuities among species. Anthropology has provided new insights into human origins and the interactions between biology and cultural factors in shaping human behaviors and social systems.

Religious concepts are very important and should be taught in places of worship. They should never be part of a public school science curriculum. Ignorance of science will only weaken America at a time when we need many more highly trained scientists. The rest of the world is moving along. We belong in the 21st century, not in the Middle Ages.

Allen Malnak, M.D., Bonita Springs

Krauthammer an inspiration

Dear Charles Krauthammer:

Your recent health-related announcement profoundly saddens me, which is why I feel compelled to write you in an expression of heartfelt gratitude.

From 2000 to 2004, while studying political science and international affairs at the University of Notre Dame, I devoured your columns and editorial contributions in The Weekly Standard (a dorm-delivered subscription paid for by my grandparents). In fact, your voice often echoed in my head as I defended my values and beliefs against the vacuous arguments posed by the leftist professors who dominate those overpriced, liberal incubation chambers that they so reverentially refer to as classrooms.

You truly had a formative effect on me. Now, before you go patting yourself on the back too heartily, I contend that I earned every one of those stellar grades on my own. As you know, only truly gifted scholars can convincingly regurgitate liberal hogwash onto college-ruled paper and graduate with their conservatism fully intact.

More recently, I would frequently race home from work just to watch your Fox News “All Star-Panel” analyses. To this day, your book, “Things That Matter,” remains on my nightstand. It highlights our shared enjoyment of “taking in” a ball game (Go, Cubs, go!), the unabashed pride with which we defend the exceptionalism of our great nation (I became a naturalized citizen in 1989) and the deep sense of awe that comes from standing under a star-filled sky to humbly accept the universe’s wondrous mysteries. Most importantly, though, is how eloquently you express our shared belief of the overarching sovereignty of politics, which staunchly validates my passion for all things political.

While we may not have known each other in this life, I will make it a point to make sure that we meet in the next.

Cristina Montero, Bonita Springs

Dreamer opportunities in other countries

Wake up, Dreamers! You're in a country whose current government administration wants to ship you out to anywhere, just to get rid of you.

The real reasons of national origin, color, religion and political opinion don’t matter. It has happened before and is not new. They're afraid of you. You're also being used as political pawns. What Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals participants, or Dreamers, have to recognize is that the U.S. is a geographical location and it may or may not have anything to do with whatever success you may achieve in life.

It's not like the old times anymore. You're young, educated, ambitious and your talents can be useful to any country that opens their arms to you. Explore those opportunities. Let's see. The U.S. military has trained a substantial number of Dreamers; most Dreamers have finished high school with many attending or having completed college degrees. They have no criminal records, are working and paying taxes.

What other country wouldn't want you? This could be an opportunity of a lifetime. Let them ship you out. Go to other countries where your talents can be utilized and appreciated.

Whatever you do, don't beg. Tell them to stuff it. You have a ton of good going for you.